Enhancing the microclimate of outdoor campus spaces in hot humid climates: the example of the University of Sharjah

Abstract This study aims to assess the microclimatic differences between multiple urban areas in a university campus and to examine the impact of adding trees to these different areas at the University of Sharjah's campus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Five locations were chosen and compared to each other by first collecting weather data for 24 h on November 25–26, 2024, a month characterized by a rise in student activities and a transition between the hotter and the cooler seasons in the UAE. These measurements are used to calibrate subsequent Envi-met simulations. Tree types that are native or adapted to UAE’s hot climate are added to all sites under study, and the microclimatic conditions before and after their addition were compared for each site individually and collectively. According to the study's results, variations exist across the five studied campus sites, with open spaces experiencing higher thermal stress due to direct solar exposure and insufficient shading. Courtyards, or areas that resemble courtyards, exhibit better thermal conditions due to self-shading effects. While air temperature across the sites fell by less than 1 °C, adding trees that offered shade led to MRT decreases of up to 41%. These findings emphasize the role of vegetation in improving the outdoor microclimate by enhancing shading.